NEW YORK — Even in New York they stand out. Gregg Asher and David Martin, a Dallas pair known for a sense of style that borders on performance art, walked into Soho’s Top Shop store Tuesday morning — a retail flagship with a sense of style that borders on fashion plagiarism. The British retailer is known for a lightning quick turnaround of runway trends and a must-shop-when-you’re-in-town destination.

Asher, 33, a hairstylist at Premiere Salon and Spa in Preston Center, and Martin, 41, a Todd Events client coordinator, are in town covering the New York collections for their 8-month-old personal style blog, “Fashion Baggage with Gregg Asher.” They’re known for an adventurous — and very label-conscious — way of dressing that usually leaves a trail of whispering and discreet camera-phone flashes.

Asher, who grew up in Arkansas “with limited funds,” favors wears women’s designer clothing and seems constitutionally impervious to raised eyebrows. “I’m so little I can’t wear men’s clothing unless I tailor it down,” he explained, stomping through Top Shop’s main-floor women’s offerings in Burberry stiletto hiking boots, flare-leg trousers and a hand-knit, blanket-sized scarf with 36-inch red and navy tendrils trailing in his wake. On the blog Asher wrote that the scarf was purchased for Martin but he said, “Hell no.”

“I try and find women’s things are a little unisex,” he said, adding he doesn’t want to “be a woman or dress like a woman” and that Martin only wears men’s clothing.

Asked which Top Shop looks he would buy for himself, Asher briefly recoiled and then gamely took on the assignment. “Like pretend to buy?” the Barneys New York regular asked. “This brings me out of my comfort zone of where I would normally shop.” His partner, meanwhile, had none of the same fears. He was downstairs in men’s, where he found a $44 gray T-shirt with attached scarf and a “very Rick Owens” $32 wrap-back tank top.

Asher zeroed in on a roomy, $135 army-green cloak that’s actually maternity wear and a $250 masculine, crimson and navy pea coat that he said is similar to looks he and Martin have spotted on the runways this week.

Asher and Martin arrived five days ago with six Louis Vuitton bags and have already seen 33 shows and presentations. Headed downstairs to find Martin, Asher said he’s excited about the masculine-feminine vibe on the runways and might even tweak his own look soon. He also says he’s shot a pilot for a reality show.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.